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US diplomat Blinken meets Turkey’s Erdogan, kicking off Gaza diplomacy tour

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met senior Turkish officials in Istanbul before heading to Greece, his first stops on a week-long trip aimed at calming tensions that have spiked across the Middle East since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.

In his meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Blinken “emphasised the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, secure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance and reduce civilian casualties”, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Saturday.

Blinken also stressed the need to work towards broader, lasting regional peace that ensures Israel’s security and advances the establishment of a Palestinian state, Miller added.

“In Turkey, we focused extensively on what Turkey can do, using its influence, using its ties, to help prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading,” Blinken said, speaking to journalists in Crete on Saturday evening.

“We also talked about the role that Turkey can play, both in the day after for Gaza, in terms of the challenging questions of Palestinian-led governance, security, rebuilding, as well as the work that it can do to try to produce more lasting durable peace and security in the region.”

Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, had skipped a meeting with Blinken when the US diplomat visited Ankara in November over Washington’s staunch backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

On Saturday, Blinken also met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and discussions focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said. In his conversation with Blinken, Fidan pointed to Israel’s escalating aggression, saying it poses a threat to the entire region. He also underlined the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, allowing the permanent delivery of aid, and stressed the need to return to two-state solution negotiations as soon as possible, the ministry added.

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